Cruel-hearted Long Island thieves swiped $50,000 in Christmas toys meant for hundreds of needy kids, said the weeping head of the nonprofit running the charity.
Toys of Hope in Huntington said it was about to start doling out the gifts to children across downstate New York when the kindly dose of much-needed holiday cheer was stolen from a parking lot Friday night into Saturday.
“I immediately pulled up, and I thought I was imagining things — I just started crying,” group founder Melissa Doktofsky told The Post on Tuesday.
The nonprofit founder said the theft was heartbreaking. Facebook/Melissa Blomberg Doktofsky“I was gut-punched, my heart ripped open. I could not believe what I was seeing.”
Doktofsky and volunteers had encased the toys in shrink wrap and carefully laid them out in a warehouse parking lot under tarp, which she said is the only way to sort out the huge number of presents before loading them into trucks.
But the gifts are essentially left unsecure outside, and heartless crooks took advantage of that.
Around 600 gifts were swiped while thousands more items were strewn across the lot and damaged by a rainstorm.
The robbery took place over the weekend. Toys of Hope“It’s like a heartless act,” Doktofsky said. “Why take from people who don’t have anything?”
A Suffolk County police rep told The Post that authorities received a report of toys stolen from the parking lot.
The theft is under investigation, the representative said.
But while Doktofsky said the theft left her devastated, her hope in mankind was renewed when another charity stepped up to offer help.
Doktofsky and other members of her 32-year nonprofit reached out to the public for new donations after the crime, and Hugo Amador, the public-relations liaison for the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, alerted executives of his Port Washington-based charity to the predicament.
The Dejana nonprofit ended up giving Toys of Hope $30,000 for new toys.
Volunteers received a huge lift from a local foundation but are still seeking more new toys and funds. Facebook/Melissa Blomberg Doktofsky“Children, especially those from struggling families, should never be deprived of holiday joy because of selfish, mean-spirited ‘Grinches’ looking to make a fast buck,” the organization told The Post in an email.
“Toys of Hope works hard throughout the year to support these families, especially during Christmas. Their dedication—and these kids—need to be recognized and celebrated. That’s why the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation jumped in to help Toys of Hope recover from this loss.”
Other well-wishers have rushed gift cards to the charity, too. Toys of Hope is also seeking donations on its website to buy more gadgets and toys, Doktofsky said.
The goal is to deliver presents in some form by Three Kings’ Day on Jan. 6.
She said she heard instances of children telling their parents or grandparents they are willing to give up their gifts to help disadvantaged kids.
“That really touched me,” Doktofsky said, adding, “We are very appreciative that the community is trying to raise funds for us.”
